Fund My American Dream, Please?

The following is an assignment I did for my Crime & the American Dream class. We were originally asked to identify our American Dream. I did this here: http://goo.gl/oTLmj0. For this assignment, we were asked to write a persuasive campaign to/for Kickstarter. I understand my ideas are a bit far fetched – but how great would it be if this really happened. I mean, that is the idea of the American Dream, right? Enjoy!

Dear Kickstarter,

I am writing to you in the hopes of convincing you that my American Dream is worth your funding. Although it may come across as fairly basic at first, I can assure you that by the end, my purpose will be clear.

My American Dream is simple.
I want to wake up every morning with a smile on my face, ready to take on the world doing something I love. Easy, right? Well here’s the kicker, I’m not sure what that looks like exactly.

What I do know are my values + mission in life.

I value: family, adventure, love, humor, health + wealth.
& my mission in life is to refuse to sell out, find my true passion and inspire people with it.

Once those are accomplished, I would love to get married, have two kids, be the best mom in the world, travel often, love myself, make money, get my Masters, give back to my community and immerse myself in adventure and humor daily. However, none of this can come to fruition until I know my purpose in life.

This is where you come in. As a college senior, preparing for graduation and the harsh reality of a real job with real car and rent payments, I do not have the resources to allow my mission in life to flourish entirely. However, with the right funds, I could set my grand plan into action.

I am hoping to raise $13,300 by my graduation on May 9th, 2015.

With this money, I will spend the next 8 months of my life focusing on the first step of my American Dream – finding my passion and using it to inspire others.

The journey begins in the fast lane of adventure. I plan to road trip across the United States and down the California coast. This has been a dream of my best friend and I since for forever. I can’t think of a better way to start finding myself than being stuck in a car with someone who has known me (and liked me) through our stages of wearing uniforms, chatting on AOL Instant Messenger, and celebrating milestone birthdays. This will cost me roughly $1,200.

Next, I plan on spending a few weeks surrounded by my family. I plan on living at home and doing whatever my parents would like, even if this means cooking dinner and folding laundry. Uninterrupted time with them is becoming hard to find as I grow older. I have no idea where my life/job will take me, so for one last time, I would love to fully be under my parent’s rule. This part of my American Dream will cost $0 because I will be totally at the hand’s of my parents.

Adventure strikes again with the next part of my American Dream. I would like to travel to Thailand, the Land of Smiles, where I will spend time learning how to function completely on my own and digging deeper into what makes my heart flood with love. This trip will be about 3-4 weeks long and cost around $3,500.

Upon my return, I will want some time to reflect on my recent experiences and plan to spend another two weeks readjusting to life at home. Again, this will cost me $0.

The next step in realizing my life purpose involves you, Kickstarter. You company embodies everything I believe I stand for in a company. Over the past few months, I have been very interested in startups/tech companies and in turn would love to work/intern at Kickstarter for a month and a half. A copy of my resume can be found here: http://wp.me/P39hIe-6I, and I can assure you I will give 110% for the entirety of my time with you. Through this experience, I will gain a better understanding of what I want from a job and in my future career. Assuming a starting salary for a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree is $44,000, I would like to be compensated for my time at your company $5,500.

This brings me to the month of October. I have always felt at home outside, enjoying nature and I would like to expand upon that belief. For the month of October, I plan to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Within that time, I am positive I can recruit a more experienced hiker to do this with me. I plan to leave all electronic devices at home and completely experience the trail. I estimate this part of my American Dream to cost me $1,800.

I am then dedicating the month of November to serving my community. I pledge to do at least four acts of community service every week for a month. I plan to try a variety of different service projects all over the state of Ohio. For this, I will need $1,300 for travel and living expenses.

Lastly, my journey will come together throughout the month of December, and I could not have picked a better month! The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year because of the time I get to spend with my family and all for the greatest reason of them all – the birth of baby Jesus. This month will serve as the final reflection period and hopefully end with an epiphany sending my off into the real world ready to change peoples’ lives.

I am completely confident in this plan and I am very hopeful for the outcome. By turning all of my values into experiences, I will be able to realize what truly brings me the most happiness and help me develop a plan to make my dream of inspiring people a reality. I hope you can believe in me as much as I believe in myself. With your support, I am confident my American Dream can become a reality. Thank you.